A badass shark diver showed us how her armored suit prevents bites and allows kisses

World-renowned diver, Cristina Zenato, has been wearing her Neptunic shark suit for 22 years. logged over 6,000 hours of 'shark time' with the Caribbean Reef Sharks in Freeport, Bahamas, where she lives and teaches courses.

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This undated image released by Discovery Channel shows a great white shark. The channel's annual Shark Week will include requests to support Oceana, an advocacy group focused on ocean conservation. Shark Week's opening lineup Sunday includes "Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White," with Olympian Michael Phelps testing his speed against that of a great white shark. (Discovery Channel via AP)

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The suit is the barrier that allows me to drop down the barrier between me and the sharks.

Cristina Zenato

The shark suit allows her to safely swim, feed, interact and study 'her' sharks. It's made of high-quality chain mail and has been tested by Zenato and the Neptunic staff throughout the years.

When accidental bites happen, the suit protects the diver from real damage.

Most bites are test bites not aggressive bites. Sharks use their mouth as their hands.

Bobby Kreusler - Neptunic

Neptunic was founded in 1978. Their shark suits are regarded as the best in the industry. The first person to test the suit also happened to be a woman, Valerie Taylor.

Bobby Kreusler, Neptunic CEO, says that the suit allows accredited divers a safe way to research these misunderstood animals.

Kreusler says that a huge part of Neptunic's mission is to provide a responsible way to research these animals and the ocean's ecosystem. Conservation and preservation are a big part of the passion that started the company.

They have partnered with 1% for The Planet and are donating a percentage of all sales to support thousands of nonprofit organizations.

Zenato says the suit is her 'second skin.' She doesn't even feel it anymore.

She says the connection through touch is the most beautiful part of her daily visits.